Vaping Digest July 3rd

Wednesday’s News at a glance:

People are ditching cigarettes for vaping for reasons other than their health ~ Can vapes save the world from smoking? ~ Cancer Foundation challenges ICMR report on ENDS ~ Parliament Debates HNB ~ Prohibition and Misinformation: Australia’s Tobacco Harm Reduction Fail ~ What can Australia learn about vaping from England? ~ You Don’t Know Nicotine – Official Documentary Teaser ~ Are e-cigarettes a positive or negative force for public health? ~ French tobacconists increasing their range of vapour products ~ Number of adults using e-cigarettes rises 70 per cent in two years, while one in four children now try them ~ Ban on e-cigarettes will deprive consumers of safer choices ~ Should we ban vaping like San Francisco ~ DOH prohibits e-cigarettes, vapes in public places ~ Vaping Taxes Tempt States but Bring Challenges ~ Tear Down Tuesday – The MSA

James Wellemeyer, Marketwatch

Taxes on traditional cigarettes may be driving smokers to try vaping.

A $1 tax increase on traditional cigarettes reduces cigarette use by 1.9% overall and by 3.5% for daily smokers, says a new study distributed by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). It also increased vaping rates by 9.7%.

Simon Usborne, Medical Xpress

Karl Erik Lund first puffed on a cigarette at a party not long after smoking rates peaked in Norway. In the mid 1970s, almost half of adults in the country smoked. Lund, who is now 60, was young and would never take to smoking in a big way. But in 1986, as a graduate in Oslo, he spotted an advert for a research role at the government agency that collated tobacco statistics. He needed the money, but he soon became addicted to the data. “I wanted to ask the question: why do people keep going with a behavior that breaks society’s rules?” he says.

BioSpectrum

In a letter to the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), The Cancer Foundation – a non-profit organisation involved in multi aspect alleviation of cancer problem, shared a rebuttal to the white paper released by ICMR on May 29, 2019.

Dave Cross, Planet Of The Vapes

“Smoking remains a terrible public health problem in the United Kingdom”, began Conservative MP and honorary life fellow of Cancer Research UK David Jones, as Parliament debated heated tobacco/heat not burn products (HNB) in the House of Commons.

Colin Mendelsohn, Filter

American vapers facing increasing restrictions, government misinformation and regulatory uncertainties are naturally concerned for the future of vaping. However, here in Australia we have it even worse.

Australia essentially has a de facto ban on vaping. The possession and use of nicotine e-liquid for vaping is illegal under federal poisons regulation. Vaping products are regulated as a tobacco products under state laws, with harsh restrictions similar to smoking.

OK, they can’t play cricket for nuts and Brexit is a mess, but smoking rates are falling in England nearly twice as fast as in Australia as record numbers of smokers take up vaping. Research also shows that vaping by non-smokers is rare.

You Don’t Know Nicotine – Official Documentary Teaser

Joseph Magero, Medium

More than 1.1 billion people smoke cigarettes today, and the habit remains the leading preventable cause of illness and premature death. Figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) confirm that the number of people worldwide who smoke cigarettes, is falling. Against this backdrop, the trend in vaping is on the rise, with millions of people using a range of products.

EcigIntelligence

Our June 2018 report on e-cig and IQOS sales via tobacconists in France predicted that the distribution of vapour products through tobacconists would increase, in response to a diversification strategy focused on the sale of other tobacco-related products. The strategy was launched by the French tobacconists association at the start of 2018, in response to a planned increase in tobacco tax.

Amir Ullah Khan, Financial Express

India’s tobacco problem is a cause of concern—the number of tobacco users has crossed 267 million, and five people die due to tobacco-related illnesses each minute. An estimated 11.2% of the world’s smokers live in India—the second-largest smoking population after China. With policymakers sounding the bugle for tobacco control with a crackdown on e-cigarettes, the debate has conveniently missed the consumer’s perspective.

Bloomberg Tax, Kelly Zegers

San Francisco—home to vaping brand Juul—has banned the sale of e-cigarettes, although cigarettes, other tobacco products, and recreational marijuana remain legal there.

While San Francisco’s move late last month isn’t about tax, it highlights the sometimes awkward situation states find themselves in as they seek to go after new revenue by taxing vaping products.

Taxes on vaping products are either aimed at liquid used in vape pens or apply to sales of vapor products like the pens themselves. The idea is appealing as cigarette sales—and revenue from cigarette taxes—fall. National cigarette sales dropped 41% between 2001 and 2017, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission.